Coca-Cola Beverages Africa’s new home in Humerail, Port Elizabeth, South Africa is the culmination of CCBA’s vision of a new way of working and the endless creative possibilities afforded by such a playful, global, familiar brand.
Driven by the need for more engagement between teams, more collaboration, better employee wellbeing and the added benefit of staff retention in a productive, dynamic environment – the move to their new home was preceded by hands-on education and facilitation between dhk thinkspace and the CCBA staff, to help them understand where they are going and what it could mean for the way they do business.
We held workshops with each of the functions to discuss their individual requirements based on their unique roles in the company and translated this into a layout that was both open and friendly while also providing the correct level of privacy and focus space. You can see this in the space through the use of Phone Booths, Quiet Rooms, acoustic feature panels that create privacy and a level of sound absorption instead of utilising solid walls to achieve this.
The design of the space was largely based around the use of the Coca-Cola brand being paramount in design decisions but there is a subtle balance between using the brand and providing a level of neutrality to ensure the brand sings in the right places instead of being overwhelmingly present.
Texture was a large consideration in the selection of finishes for the fit-out, this can be seen in the mix of concrete tile and timber flooring, exposed brick walls (covered in graffiti by a local artist) down to the ceilings which were perforated with a circular detail that mimicked the fizz of Coca-Cola. A chandelier designed by a local artist hangs in the breakout area, constructed of the classic glass bottle, but cut to form a soft, ghostly feature.
The Coca-Cola brand is powerfully familiar to almost everyone on the planet. That familiarity stems from more than a century of being a part of people's homes and memories. This sentimental edge was added to the design mix and can be found in the 100 favourite Coke taglines printed onto the locker doors with the year that tagline was released instead of standard locker numbers.
The design of the reception desk and feature wall design is a bold feature as you walk into the building that champions the Coca Cola brand. Constructed of high gloss panels with circular cutouts that represent their signature fizz, the feature runs from behind the textured concrete reception desk (where it seamlessly becomes a server) up onto the ceiling and reaches all the way to the entrance door.
We at dhk thinkspace are proud to have been able to deliver a modern, activity-based workplace for this global icon, blending functionality and comfort, with on-trend design and brand communication.
